The moment you start thinking it's hopeless, then it is. [But], if you think it's gonna get better, it really does. Life is a test.

We can be beautiful and feel beautiful about who we are everyday.

I was taught when there's somethin' you can change around keep quiet, you got nothin' to complain about.

It's possible and available to any artist to be himself or herself on their own terms, to be accepted and embraced by black people. You don't have to be a thug to get love from black people.

Make today's solid ground out of yesterday's quicksand.

I don't have advice for people on how to dress. People should dress based on what they find beautiful. My best advice: Keep your clothes clean.

History has proven that it's impossible to crush the artist. There's always gonna be a need for somebody to write a poem or sing a song about something, about life - that makes it real. There's the word that goes beyond the word.